


Bananas Foster

by queermosapien



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Co-workers, First Kiss, Food, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 16:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18237512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queermosapien/pseuds/queermosapien
Summary: Alex helps Josh with a new recipe, and things don't exactly go as smoothly as he'd hoped.(2.5k, rated T for swearing)





	Bananas Foster

At the end of the day, Alex liked to walk around the empty halls of Mythical Entertainment, just to clear his head a bit. Being a producer was hard, he had to admit, and while he liked to give off an air of easy confidence -- like a Buddhist monk, as one commenter had described him a few weeks ago -- he still deeply valued his time to decompress and breathe a little after everyone had left for the day.

Almost everyone, he supposed, hearing a loud crash and a truly impressive string of curse words coming from the kitchen.

"Everything okay in here?" Alex asked, poking his head around the door.

"Yeah, I--it's fine, I'm fine, just dropped the fuckin' skillet on my foot." Josh, the resident chef, was not known for being clumsy, which made it all the more surreal for Alex to see him standing on one foot and wincing painfully.

"Need a hand? What are you even doing in here?" Alex stepped into the room and picked up the skillet, brushing it off and placing it on the counter. "Other than damaging company property."

"By that do you mean me or the skillet?"

"Both."

Josh laughed. "That's fair. Uh, I was just getting ready to practice a recipe for that episode coming up, the one where we're trying to get Link to actually like foods he hates?"

"Oh, god, that one. Good luck, bro."

"I know, right? I'm just hoping I can pull it off; can you believe I've never actually made Bananas Foster?"

Alex looked at Josh blankly. "I can absolutely believe that. I've never even heard of Bananas Foster."

"What? Dude!"

Alex shrugged. "Sorry, I guess?"

Josh shook his head. "Unreal. Okay, you're gonna help me make it and then if you're good you get to taste it."

"Only if I'm good?" Alex grinned at him.

"That's the rule, sorry."

"Oh, fine. You planning on telling me what Bananas Foster is?"

"It's delicious, is what it is. I only have enough for one, though, so we're gonna have to share, if that's okay."

_More than okay,_ Alex stopped himself from saying. He tried to keep his bisexuality to himself at the best of times, and revealing his big stupid crush on his assuredly straight friend was definitely not the way to do that. He'd already dealt with that once before, and had absolutely no desire to drive away another Mythical employee. People were still asking about Mike on Twitter.

Josh, mercifully, didn't seem to notice Alex's abrupt drop into tongue-tied silence as he busied himself with readying ingredients. Alex watched with curiosity as Josh measured out sugar and cinnamon, pouring them into separate ramekins. Noticing his interest, Josh explained, "This recipe is supposed to come together really quickly, so it's good to have all the stuff prepped beforehand. I mean, that's a good practice in general, to be honest, but especially with something like this that cooks fast. Here, you can help with my banana."

Alex smirked, unable to stop his mind from launching itself immediately into the gutter. From the look on Josh's face, he was making the same joke in his head, and the two grinned at each other for a bit. "What would you like me to do with your banana, Josh?" Alex asked.

"Ooh, that's a loaded question." Josh raised his eyebrows and Alex could practically feel his face going red. "For starters, why don't you go ahead and peel it for me."

"Yes, chef." Alex turned away and began peeling the ripe fruit. Beside him, Josh was setting up the small burner they used in lieu of a proper stovetop and putting a chunk of butter in with some brown sugar.

"Great, now while that's melting down, we need to cut up the banana. First in half across, then half lengthwise. Here, let me." Josh gently nudged Alex aside, knife already in hand.

"I'm not Link, dude, I can use knives," Alex said, but he allowed himself to be moved.

"I know, I just don't want you to cut yourself. I remember how you were with the mandoline, you nearly sliced your finger off cutting that cucumber." Josh shot him a smile and Alex felt his stomach flip. "My sous-chef needs all his digits. Go stir that butter up until it melts and let me know when it starts to bubble."

A few minutes later, the butter and sugar had melted down and was bubbling nicely. "It doesn't look all that combined," Alex commented as Josh carefully laid the banana slices into the mixture. "Shouldn't I stir it a bit more?"

Josh shook his head. "No, according to the recipe it's kinda supposed to be grainy like that? Once I add the alcohol it should turn into more of a sauce."

"Alcohol?"

"Yeah! Oh man, should I not have spoiled the surprise? Yeah, dude, this is a flambe! We're using rum and banana liqueur. It kicks up the flavour and makes the cooking part real fun." Josh flipped the bananas over quicker than Alex thought was safe. "I love flambes. I once poured Fireball all over a ham and then set it on fire. It was awesome."

Alex shook his head. "Should I be worried about you?"

Josh grinned at him. "No, but you can be if you want to." The two held each other's gaze for just a few seconds longer before Josh turned his face back to the skillet. With a flick of his fingers, he turned off the heat. "Okay, you can add in the rum and the liqueur now, just over there. We're using a cup because the bottle might explode if you poured straight from that."

"But the cup is safe?"

"The cup is safe, yes." Despite this reassurance, Alex still flinched as he poured. The skillet hissed as the alcohol hit it, but the amazing smell coming off of it was definitely helping. Josh turned the burner on again and Alex waited, holding his breath.

Sure enough, after a minute or so the pan suddenly burst into flames. Alex jerked away and felt Josh's hand on his back. "Hey, it's okay," Josh said, easing Alex forward again. "Look, it's safe, it's just burning the alcohol off. C'mon, pour that cinnamon in now. It'll look really cool."

Alex cautiously picked up the ramekin of cinnamon and scattered a pinch into the pan. Sparks danced through the flames and he had to admit, it _did_ look really cool. With slightly more confidence, he poured in the rest of the spice.

"See, I told you it was--oh _fuck_ , Alex!"

Alex realized his sleeve was on fire a few seconds after Josh did, which was weird in and of itself. Before he got a chance to panic, though, Josh had already snatched a towel from the nearby counter and smothered the flames. "Take it off," Josh ordered, shoving Alex toward the sink and turning on the cold water.

"What--" Alex began, but Josh cut him off.

"I don't want to rip it but you have to get it off of your skin unless you want to burn even worse, take it the fuck off!"

Working one-handed, Alex hastily unzipped the hoodie and shrugged it off before putting his arm under the stream from the faucet. Josh kicked the smoking garment off to the side and stomped on it a few times to make sure the fire was really out. "Good. Okay, you keep your arm under that water for a bit, I'm gonna turn this burner off and then we're gonna patch you up, okay? You're okay."

Alex just stared at the angry red burn on his wrist, hating himself. Who sets themself on fire and doesn't even notice? Not even Link did that, and he was the clumsy one. God, he was such an idiot. Way to look cool in front of the guy you like, buddy.

"Hey." Josh's voice was much softer now, though it still shook Alex from his self-deprecating thoughts. "I took the pan off the heat, it actually looks really good. You did a good job. Come sit down, I have burn stuff and bandages." Alex followed Josh across the room to where a chair had been placed under a light. He took a seat and kept his eyes lowered, shame written across his features. Josh crouched beside him and took his hand. "It's not too bad," Josh said, "but I'm still gonna dress it just in case. Last thing you need is an infection, right?"

Alex didn't reply, and there was silence for a few moments as Josh spread a soothing cream over the burn.

"I'm sorry," Josh said at last. His voice was quiet and he didn't look up from his work. "I should've been more careful."

Finally, Alex spoke. " _You_ should've been more careful? I'm the one who set my own arm on fire! If anyone should be apologizing right now it's me!"

"What? No, I made you think it was safer than it was! I should've been watching out for you."

"You were!" Alex insisted. "I was stupid and you knew what to do right away."

"You shouldn't have gotten burned in the first place." Josh shook his head and began wrapping a bandage around Alex's wrist. "I didn't want you to get hurt. It's my fault. I'm so sorry."

Alex stared at Josh. "Wow, you're... you're not kidding."

"Of course I'm not," Josh said, at last meeting Alex's gaze. "I never want you to hurt. You're... really important to me."

Another silence fell between the two, Josh's words hanging heavy in the air. "You're, uh... you're important to me too," Alex said at last, dropping his eyes and watching as Josh finished up with the bandage. "And thanks for, uh, for this. The first-aid."

"Just gotta do one more thing."

"What?"

In lieu of an answer, Josh raised Alex's hand up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the bandaged wound.

Alex could've sworn his heart stopped for a second. Scratch that, actually, he was pretty sure that _time itself_ stopped. He had to be dreaming, right? That didn't actually happen, did it? But the lingering pain from the burn, the smell of warm, sweet bananas in the air, and Josh's hand callused but gentle on his own... those were all real. _Holy shit._

Josh cleared his throat and rose to his feet, and Alex realized that he hadn't said anything. "So!" Josh said, clapping his hands together just a bit more aggressively than he needed to. "Anyway! Bananas Foster! I'll plate this and then you can taste it and that--that will be good! Great!" His voice was loud and bright, and it dawned on Alex with mounting horror how it must look, considering that he _still_ hadn't said anything.

Alex stood up hastily and followed after Josh. "Hey," he began, but Josh seemed determined not to hear him.

"Sorry I only had enough for one, I didn't plan on having company, but it's okay," Josh rambled on, working quickly to create a presentable dish. "You can just have it, see if you like it, and that'll be fine."

"Hey."

"I hope Link likes it, I think he will, it's Bananas Foster, how could you not like it, right?"

"Hey!"

"What!" Josh whirled to face Alex, imposing for a moment before slumping and looking at the floor. "Look, I... I'm sorry, okay? I know I crossed a line there and I didn't... I wasn't thinking. It didn't mean anything. I mean, okay, it might have meant something but it doesn't have to mean anything if you don't... want it to." His voice lowered and he shifted uncomfortably. "I'm really sorry. I made it weird."

"Josh..." Alex said in a voice barely more than a whisper. Their eyes met, and Alex steeled his nerve before taking a step forward. "You didn't make it weird, okay? Believe me, that was... the opposite of weird."

Josh looked down at Alex, a smile dancing at the corners of his mouth. "... Do you think I could _try_ to make it weird, then?"

Alex smiled back and reached up to rest his arms on Josh's broad shoulders. "Be my guest," he said, letting his eyes slip closed as Josh bent down and closed the distance between them.

The kiss was slow and sweet, the two taking their time with each other. Alex felt Josh's arms lightly encircle him and pull him closer, and he melted into the other man's embrace easily. He'd never felt so small before, and he was surprised to find that he absolutely loved it. Josh's strength was reassuring and warm, the firm muscles of his chest perfect for Alex to rock forward against as their kiss deepened.

Too quickly, they parted. Alex's face was flushed and, much to his relief, so was Josh's. "Wow," he said, just for something to say.

"Yeah, that was... not a thing I was expecting today."

"Mad about it?"

Josh grinned and bent to kiss Alex again, which answered the question very succinctly. Keeping one arm safely around the smaller man, Josh turned back to the dessert. "Look, isn't it nice?"

It was, Alex had to admit, pretty nice. The banana slices were golden-brown and placed neatly around a scoop of vanilla ice cream, already melting from the warmth of the fruit and the rum sauce drizzled overtop. Josh picked up a spoon and made sure to get a little of everything before holding it up to Alex's mouth. "Come on, sous-chef," he said, "tell me how I did."

"Wow, you're really this lame, huh," Alex said before accepting the spoon into his mouth.

"Get used to it, baby." Josh kissed him on the cheek playfully and grabbed the other spoon to taste his creation for himself.

They were just scraping the last of the sauce from the bowl when Alex felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Upon unlocking it, he burst into peals of shocked laughter and wordlessly turned the screen toward Josh so he could read the text that had just come in.

 

**Chase Hilt**

_btw i worked late tonight. congrats to u and josh._  
_guess i owe stevie $20, i couldve sworn u two_  
_were the only actual straight people in the whole_  
_office. welcome to the club! ^_^ <3_

 

"I'm pretty sure everything happening right now is some sort of HR violation," Josh said over Alex's sobs of laughter.

"Do you care?"

Josh put a hand on the back of Alex's neck and pulled him in close to kiss him again. "Nope. Not at all."

"Good," Alex said, twisting to face Josh and leaning fully against him, "because neither do I."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Ever since the Fancy Fast Food: Subway Edition episode, I couldn't get Josh/Alex out of my mind, so this had to be made.
> 
> The recipe Josh is using is real, taken from here. I recommend watching the video of it if you want to see the sparkle effect that the cinnamon has, it really is cool to see.


End file.
